Thank you to my readers and especially to my reviewers! Here is the final chapter!

"Huh?" Shouko looked up in surprise. Connected by their hands, they had finally made their way to a tanzaku-writing booth. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts, she hadn't taken any note of her surroundings.

Keiichi let go of her hand as he went to write his wish. He bent over and wrote in a solemn, thoughtful manner before moving over to the large bamboo and tying his tanzaku to a branch. He then looked over expectantly at her.

Realizing how silly she must look, spacing out with the brush in her hand, Shouko blushed and bent her head to her task. For a few seconds she stared at the paper blankly.

What do I want to wish for? Wishing for good grades seems a little trivial, but…I'm really not sure…

She snuck a peek at the golden-haired boy who was patiently waiting. Looking back at her blank tanzaku she felt herself tremble slightly. She knew what she wanted to wish for, but the question was whether she was bold enough to make such a wish. Looking up at the sky, she saw the stars Altair and Vega together.

This whole festival celebrates the love of Hikoboshi and Orihime. They worked hard to find love. I need to gain courage and strength from their legend. I'm not sure what river separates Shimizu-kun and me, but…but maybe, with the two lovers watching over us, like them, we'll be able to meet on Tanabata.

Smiling shyly, she wrote, "To be able to confess my feelings to Keiichi Shimizu." Slightly scandalized by her boldness at writing something so explicit on her tanzaku, she hurriedly ran over to the bamboo to tie it as high as she could reach. She strained on her tip-toes to tie the tanzaku to an offending branch that was just a little too high. A pair of hands suddenly reached out of nowhere and securely tied her tanzaku to its branch. Whirling around, she found herself face-to-face with Keiichi.

He smiled a little bit, gazing up at the sky. Shouko panicked inside. Had he seen her wish? She felt ready to die of embarrassment.

"Fuyuumi-san…"

"Uh, Y-Yes?" She brought herself back to Earth.

"My tanzaku…is the blue one…on that branch…Would…you…like to…read it…?"

She opened her mouth to decline, but when his eyes met hers, she slowly closed it and nodded, turning to walk toward the specified location. There was something about his eyes that compelled her to go and see it. When she reached the proper location, she looked up, her eyes searching for the blue slip of paper. A light breeze rippled through the branches, causing many of the tanzaku to flutter. A flash of blue caught her eye. She squinted slightly, struggling to read the fluttering slip of paper.

My…My wish is…My wish is for…My wish is for…my girlfriend…My wish is for…to become my girlfriend…My wish is for Shouko Fuyuumi to become my girlfriend.

Her eyes widened in shock. She turned to look at Keiichi in disbelief. His questioning eyes gazed back at hers. Her eyes drifted back to the tanzaku. She shyly lowered her eyes, her cheeks turning a light pink.

Keiichi slowly walked over to her and asked quietly, "Did you…find it…Fuyuumi-san…?"

"Y-Yes," she breathed.

"Being with you…is very calming…Your music…is light and soothing…" He looked her straight in the eye. "You've worked very hard…haven't you…?" He closed his eyes and smiled. "You've really been pushing yourself to go further…I…really admire you…" He smiled down at her again.

The whole time he was talking, Shouko felt her face grow redder and redder. She hadn't realized that he thought that way about her and her music.

"Maybe…it was impertinent…my wish…" he murmured.

She felt her heart sink as she hid the hurt and confusion on her face. Here she had thought he was confessing to her and he was apologizing! She bit her lip to help fight back the tears.

His blue-green eyes met hers and softened. "Truthfully…I only just realized…my feelings…" he whispered. "The other day…when we touched…I felt something strange…and new…"

She blushed, remembering the feelings she had felt at that time.

"I thought about it…for a long time…Even…when I played my cello…that time would play over…and over in my mind… It was…the strangest thing…" He smiled, "But tonight…I found my answer…When we lit our fireworks together…I understood…" He smiled at her with a dreamy look in his eyes. "I like you…Fuyuumi-san…"

Her heart swelled happily. He did like her. He took a small step closer to her and looked down into her beautiful eyes.

"So…even if I've only just realized it…Will you be my girlfriend…?"

Joyfully she nodded. Blushing, she whispered, "I-I don't think your wish was impertinent Shimizu-kun…I'm glad you didn't wait." She looked up at him again with a sweet smile. She was overjoyed.

Keiichi looked happily at her and took her hand in his. She looked back up at him after glancing at their hands and smiled back at him blissfully.

*BOOM!* The first of the fireworks splashed across the sky. Boy and girl turned smilingly to watch the display over the river.

Like Hikoboshi and Orihime who used magpies to bridge the river between them, the hearts of Keiichi Shimizu and Shouko Fuyuumi were finally bridged through their mutual confessions that fluttered in the breeze. Only on Tanabata, could such a miracle occur.

And that's the end of my first Shouko Fuyuumi x Keiichi Shimizu fic! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

I think I mentioned it in passing earlier, but Hikoboshi is the star Altair and Orihime is the star Vega. I guess in the late summer, they are high in the night sky, so they don't actually "meet" per se. Either way, it is a cute story. (^_^)

Please review! Thank you for reading!